He Was
by Dark12light
Summary: Random mini-stories and one-shots centering on the YumixUlrichxWilliam relationship.
1. Yumi's Thoughts

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: Yumi just cannot sleep...

_(Sorry for the confusion! I accidentally wrote that this was a one-shot...)_

* * *

She had seen a trace of him, proof that he was there somewhere.

Was it really him? Was it the real William or XANA? Why would XANA want to seduce her like that?

She was still pondering the moment in her mind. She turned, finding that it was four in the morning already. Groaning, she pressed her pillow over her head.

* * *

_"So you're the new kid?" she asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"I'm William," he answered, letting out his hand. She shook his hand firmly._

_Mrs. Hertz walked around the classroom. "Okay, now that you have finished making your groups, it is time to head outside. The bus is here. Take your equipment and remember that..."_

_"And now I'm your science partner, too," he whispered. She widened her eyes._

* * *

She threw her pillow onto the floor along with her blanket. It was too hot in here.

She stared at the ceiling. He was not a bad guy. He was just too, well... ambitious. It would not work well with the group. If they were in different circumstances, however, it might work out.

* * *

_"This is my real Valentine's Day gift to you," he whispered to her when he passed her in the hall._

_She frowned, turning. He was winking when she turned to look back at him._

_She shrugged, turning the lock for her locker. She easily pulled the handle, then..._

_She never thought she had seen so many cherry blossoms before._

_Ignoring the buzz around her, she pulled the letter from the top corner of her locker._

_**Happy Valentine's Day, Yumi. I remembered - William**_

_She sighed._

* * *

He knew that she preferred cherry blossoms over roses.

He just gave her that bouquet before so that...

**_Urgh_**... those two!

* * *

_"What did you think of my poem?" Ulrich asked._

_She scowled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "What is it with you and that poem?"_

_"Well, that poem was meant for you, not Sissi," he said with ease. "That's what I was saying in Lyoko."_

_"Oh." She blushed in realization. "I did not really listen to it."_

_"Here," he offered, taking a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He pulled up her arm, forcing the paper into her hand. She closed her fingers over the worn paper. "Read it when you get home."_

_"Um... okay..." He grinned, running off to Kadic with Odd._

* * *

It was a while before she realized that she was tossing and turning in bed.

She looked at the charging mobile phone by her wall outlet. She needed to talk to someone...

* * *

_"Hey, what's up?" he asked her softly, hiding his moving lips behind his arm. "You're looking down." He eyed the instructor in front of the room._

_"Nothing," she replied shortly. She hid a yawn._

_"You haven't been getting enough sleep," he concluded. "You need someone to talk to?"_

_"Not re-" He ripped a piece of paper from his notebook, scribbled something on it, then passed it to her._

_"Now you do," he smiled._

_She opened up the paper curiously, then found him smirking behind his arm._

_He was so audacious._

* * *

She wanted so badly to call him. She knew that he would help calm her to sleep.

Except that this time, he wouldn't answer.

* * *

_"Yumi?" he asked groggily. "It's two in the morning. What's up?"_

_"Nothing," she replied, biting her bottom lip. "I just... I'm having trouble going to sleep."_

_"Something on your mind?" he asked. She heard some shuffling on the other line._

_"Yes," she admitted._

_"All right," he said decidedly. "Talk to me."_

* * *

She smiled. That was the longest time she had ever talked to someone on the phone...

... after Ulrich, that is.

* * *

_"Hey Yumi," he greeted from the other side of the phone._

_"Hey Ulrich," she greeted. She paused before adding, "They're fighting again."_

_There was silence from both ends of the phone. "Do you need me to come over?"_

_"Please."_

* * *

_Why were they making everything so complicated?_ she repeated in her mind. How come no one would give her a straight answer?

_**Why?!**_

* * *

_"You don't like her like that!" he exclaimed. "I don't know why you insist that you keep trailing her like a lost little dog, but..."_

_"Who are you to say? Are you saying you're closer to her after just meeting her a couple of days ago? You're just a friend!"_

_"So are you!"_

_She frowned, walking away from the growing crowd. They were so stupid._

_She hated liars._

* * *

She had easily given a piece of herself to both of them. That was a big mistake.

How would she prove that they both were important to her?

Did she have to do something drastic to do so?

She shook her head. She did not want to resort to that.

* * *

_Even after yesterday's episode, he still waited by the front of her house. He grinned when he spotted her walking home on the sidewalk._

_"School ended a couple of hours ago," he grinned. "Where have you been?"_

_"How about off saving the world? Would you accept that?" she asked, annoyed. Even after getting her into so much trouble with Ulrich yesterday, he dared to pull the same stunt again._

_She was walking up the stairs to her house._

_"From you, I would."_

_She paused._

_She shook her head. He could not be trusted..._

_"I'll see you tomorrow at school, William."_

_"I'll be waiting."_

* * *

Her phone suddenly burst to life. She literally jumped on her mattress. Using her hand to rest her heartbeat, she picked up her phone undecidedly. She wanted to remember the times, yet, she also wanted to get away from it all.

"It's Yumi here."

"Hey." It was Ulrich.

"What's up?" she asked, taking her place in bed. She could hear her father's snores. She crossed her legs underneath her.

"I can't sleep."

* * *

_A/N: This one-shot was for exploration. I suppose I can write some good Yumi/William. This was not a specific YW piece, yet, after watching some Code: Lyoko episodes I missed, I think I was obliged to do so. It felt like a duty, because William is not a bad dude. He is too blinded in love like Ulrich. The only difference between them is that William is more audacious and is older by one year. Okay, I'll stop my ranting now._

_(Did anyone notice the irony I placed in this one yet?)_


	2. Ulrich's Thoughts

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: I've been having these feelings to add another chapter to this story. It's time to even it all out.

* * *

"You know, she was pretty bothered when we all went home," his roommate commented, yawning immediately afterward.

That was a few hours ago. Now he could not go to sleep.

When she was bothered, that meant he had something to worry about.

So many things could have happened to distract her. Her parents. Her brother. School.

William.

He groaned, checking the clock on his bedside table. It was still four in the morning. There was no way he would be energized for tomorrow morning.

Oh, it was Saturday.

He turned in bed, facing the wall.

What could William have done? He was still being controlled by XANA, right?

* * *

_"C'mon Romeo, we're going to gaze at flowers somewhere else," he insisted, tugging on his arm._

_"Why?" was all he could ask. He took another look of them sitting on opposite trees. He was just the new kid, right?_

_"You know," he said, tugging on him with more force. He gave up._

_They were in a more secluded place now. Odd stared at the tree for several minutes before beginning his sketch._

_He groaned, looking over his shoulder. If he just moved to the left a few meters, then..._

_"Ulrich, don't even think about it."_

* * *

He pulled his blanket over himself. It was so cold...

He stared at the Pencak Silat poster on his wall. When he first saw him at that class with Yumi...

He clenched his fists.

He messed up everything for him. All of his chances were ruined. It did not matter if Jeremie initiated a return to the past and he beat William to the punch.

William still won anyway.

And that's why he hated himself for it.

* * *

_It was all over the school._

_Aelita and Jeremie were impressed._

_Odd was laughing so hard, telling flower jokes to no end._

_He, on the other hand, was fuming._

_She never told him her locker combination..._

* * *

He scowled at his sleeping roommate from the other side of the room. He was currently hanging off his bedside, arm lying limply by the floor. A stream of drool was leading away from his wide open mouth, loud snores emanating from his throat.

And the dog could sleep?!

* * *

_He had sneaked out of his dorm room, pattered softly out of the building, ran out of the gates, and then climbed up to her room. She anticipated his arrival, leaving the window wide open for him._

_"I can hear them," he winced. The father's loud shouts could be heard throughout the entire building._

_"It's horrible," she complained quietly, sitting on her bed. He sat beside her._

_"I know," he agreed. "They sound like my parents."_

_"Stay," she said._

_He did not have to think when it came to her and decisions. "Of course."_

* * *

After all of those times they spent, the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful, she still confused him. Why did William have to show up now?

He was almost glad that XANA had taken him.

Almost.

* * *

_These confrontations were becoming more constant._

_He almost wondered if his life was just a XANA attack._

_"Yumi, wait!" he yelled. "I'm sorry, okay?"_

_Why did she have to walk in on that? He had to practice discretion more often._

_They were arguing in front of the whole school, practically._

_She had stopped, leaving him to catch up to her. He had to run one block to finally get close enough to get normally audible._

_When did she get so fast?_

_"Why are you mad? He had provoked me and..."_

_"I don't like liars," was all she said, crossing her arms. She was not even out of breath. She looked away from him._

_"What are you..."_

_"You figure it out," she answered shortly, running away._

_He was getting so tired of this._

_After catching his breath, he ran full speed ahead._

* * *

They did not hang out so often. She was with William all of the time.

He was not jealous! They were just friends...

Liar.

* * *

_When he thought back to it, they could have been great friends. Things would be so different now if..._

_What was he kidding?_

_"You must be Ulrich," William said, finding Ulrich in the middle of the soccer field. "Yumi told me about you."_

_"Same," Ulrich said shortly, kicking soccer balls randomly into the net. "You're the new kid, William."_

_"You've been a new kid once," William frowned. "So, you must like soccer."_

_"That's an understatement." He kicked the ground before kicking another soccer ball. It rampaged into the net._

_He sat by the bleachers. "Center forward, I'm guessing."_

_"Yeah," Ulrich answered, sweat dripping down his forehead._

_The science trip._

_He frowned._

_"Don't let it get to your head," William finally said, leaving._

_Ulrich grunted, kicking another soccer ball._

_It missed the net._

* * *

So many lost opportunities...

Everyone expected so much of him lately.

* * *

_"I know that everyone only gets one birthday a year," he started, encountering her alone under the cherry blossom tree by her house, "but I need to make up for how I messed up last time."_

_"What do you me-?" she started. He interrupted her, handing her a small, gifted box._

_"I owe you," was all he said. "Open it when you get into your room."_

_She nodded, and he left._

_He gave her a copy of his dorm room key._

* * *

He had almost lost her once, yet afterward, she acted as if nothing happened. She had scarred him forever.

What if he truly lost her? That question would forever stay in his mind, haunting him.

He groaned, kicking the blankets off of his body. He welcomed the cold sweat.

He would never go to sleep.

* * *

_He needed to study for that major test._

_"Okay, so you've got a pencil?" asked Jeremie._

_"You can look for one in my bag," offered Yumi when she went up with Aelita and Odd for lunch._

_Her backpack was so neat. However, one thing was out of place._

_It was a piece of rolled up paper. Hiding his hand in her bag, he opened it up._

_He frowned._

_It was William's phone number._

_He quickly rolled it up again, taking a pencil and closing her backpack._

_"The Pythagoras theorem is a2+b2 equals c2, so let me say that..."_

_William got in the lunch line behind Yumi, and he gripped his pencil._

_When was the class time he attended that Pencak Silat class?_

* * *

He got out of bed, taking his cell phone from its charger.

He dialed one on his speed dial.

"It's Yumi here," she greeted nervously.

"Hey," he said.

"What's up?"

"I can't sleep."

* * *

_A/N: I know that most of you readers will be satisfied that I added some Ulrich/Yumi romance. Now, I need advice for the next chapter... or the rest of this story. I am aiming to reach less than ten chapters, because I never expected this to be such a long project._


	3. William's Thoughts

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

* * *

**(A few months ago...)**

He did not know why they kept calling him "that kid who was expelled".

It was not his fault that he had been throwing love letters all over the school. If that girl was not so persistent, he would not have done such a thing. He should not have been expelled. It was such a wild punishment.

Well, he was not exactly regretting it right now.

* * *

_"I'm shocked that you played me like that," she whispered furiously._

_"You knew that she was making sure we picked our partners," he shrugged, slipping his camera around his neck._

_"You distracted me!"_

_"I like you," he told her bluntly._

_"What does that have to do with anything?" she whispered in an angry, hushed voice, following after him into the woods._

_"Everything."_

_"Now as I was saying," interrupted the instructor as she glared at William. "Stay with your partner at all times, because..."_

_"I don't like you," she frowned, crossing her arms._

_"I don't really care about that," he answered easily._

_"You're heartless."_

_He pretended to look offended. "Then where else am I keeping my memory of you?"_

* * *

Why did she keep denying him? Did she prefer that Stern guy over him?

Ulrich Stern needed to man up. He could barely keep his wits around her. How would that convince her that they were ready to share a relationship?

If he was not in this predicament, he probably would be giving the poor boy some advice or knock him upside the head for being so stubborn.

Yumi Ishiyama was different than he expected she would be. She was athletic. She was smart. She was selfless. She was witty...

She was _**so**_ stubborn.

He grinned. He would have to work harder to earn her trust.

Just what about him did she not trust? He would give anything...

Man, she made him talk like a dying man in a soap opera.

* * *

_He had it all planned out._

_In art class, she had commented about how she liked cherry blossoms._

_He planned to use this to his advantage. He bought many cherry blossoms from the flower shop. They were pretty expensive, but it would be worth it, seeing her reaction._

_He reserved the bouquet for that special event._

_He would show that Ulrich Stern exactly what he was dealing with._

* * *

Sometimes, he wondered if she was a lost cause. He saw the way she looked at Stern sometimes. It was plain disheartening.

Stern was never going to treat her the way she was supposed to be treated.

* * *

_He was listening to her ramble on about Ulrich Stern, her supposed best friend._

_"There's nothing between you and me, William," she concluded. "Nothing is going to happen." How many times had she told him that? Did she really think that he would accept that **now**?_

_"Like there is nothing going on between you and Stern? No chance."_

_She paused. "William," she started angrily._

_"I know, I know. I'm going to hang up now, but remember, I'll be waiting for you..."_

_She sighed. "Forever," she finished for him, hanging up._

* * *

At least he had control over the way their developing relationship was going. It was not a romance yet, but the way things were headed...

It was going somewhere.

* * *

_He was walking back and forth in front of her house. She suddenly appeared around the corner._

_He grinned, crossing his arms. "Look who decided to show." He looked at his watch. "It's late."_

_"I know," she said shortly. "William," she started threateningly._

_"I'm not letting you go until you talk to me first. No, I don't mean just hello and goodbye. I'm talking about..." he interrupted._

_"Let me go!" she exclaimed, pushing against his chest. She struggled against the arms surrounding her. "Can't we talk about this later?" she asked tiredly._

_"Now," he insisted._

_"I hate you," she frowned._

_"Don't worry, I love you too."_

_You could call it a love/hate relationship._

* * *

She and Stern had so many things in common. They were always off somewhere alone. Yumi was not that type of girl, but still...

It was human to worry.

He looked at his wall clock. It was one in the morning.

He glanced at the charging phone on his bedside table.

She would be calling in an hour.

* * *

_It was way too late. He picked up his phone, not even checking the number of the person who called. "It's William," he greeted groggily._

_"Hey, you gave me your number?" It was Yumi._

_"Hi Yumi. What's up?" He struggled to sit up. "Can't sleep?"_

_"No," she admitted. She paused before asking nervously, "Can I tell you something?"_

_He rubbed his eyes. "I'm listening."_

_"My parents... They're arguing and... I'm scared, so..."_

_All of a sudden, he understood._

* * *

She confided in him. He never really told her anything about himself. She never asked.

It was anything but one-sided, no matter what they all said.

He never liked listening to his parents.

* * *

_"You do not have to walk inside my house!" she exclaimed on her front steps. "Thanks for walking me home. Good night."_

_He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think you can get rid of me that easily?"_

_"Yes!" she said, shooing him. "I will see you tomorrow, all right? Don't come around in the morning."_

_"Why not?" he teased her._

_She frowned. "Because I said so."_

_"That's not a good enough reason."_

_"Good night!" she slammed the front door closed._

_He turned around, walking home easily._

_He could bet on his life that Stern had been in her house at least once._

_For some reason, that realization did not hurt that badly._

_She needed more than just him to talk to._

* * *

She was truly a nice person when he talked to her privately, not in denial about their friendship like when they were in public. She was sweet when they spoke in one-on-one conversations.

That was all he wanted.

* * *

_"So what do you want to be in the future?" he asked, walking with her around campus._

_"That's a bit ahead of us, isn't it?" she asked, scrunching her forehead. "I don't know. I never gave it that much thought..."_

_"You could be anything. You're smart. You're athletic." She blushed, and he smirked. "I love that."_

_"Love what?" she asked, frowning._

_"You blush so easily."_

* * *

He sighed.

Every time he thought about her, he got so restless.

It was all so complicated.

* * *

_"You're arrogant," she smirked, crossing her arms. "Does that answer your question?"_

_"Is that your only reason?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I know I may be, but if that is your only reason for not giving me **one** chance, then..."_

_"What do you want?" she asked, exasperated._

_He grinned. "A place in your heart."_

_"That sounds so cheesy." She rolled her eyes._

_"I know," he admitted. "It's true, though. I can't lie when it comes to you."_

_"You don't have to try so hard," she said, looking into his eyes. "You already have one."_

* * *

His cell phone lit up. He picked it up before it rung, an act he was becoming accustomed to.

"Hi Yumi," he greeted automatically.

"Hi William," she greeted back nervously. "I'm sorry for calling so late."

"No worries," he replied. "Are they arguing again?" he asked in concern.

"It's silly. I should have never called..."

"Nothing you say is silly to me."

She paused. "You know that there is nothing between us."

"You keep saying that," he said.

"It's true," she insisted. "You know it's true."

"I'll believe it when you believe it."

"I do believe it, William!"

He grinned. "You are such a hypocrite."

* * *

_A/N: I'm beginning to like adding these author's notes in the end of the chapter :D_

_Why is she a hypocrite? Read what she says in the first chapter if you do not remember._

_Good friends can have places in your heart, so please do not misinterpret the meaning. I do not want any reviews from about how William is a jerk and the reasons why William and Yumi cannot work as a romantic couple. That is not the reason why I am posting this story._

_You can thank _**PeaceToThePeople**_ and_ **audi katia**_ for this chapter. I was pretty indecisive in deciding what to put in this chapter._


	4. Double Take

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: I apologize if the idea of using this episode is cliche...

I have worked very long on this chapter, and this is the first time I have incorporated my work into an actual Code: Lyoko episode. I guess I did a good job, if I must say so myself.

Time: Double Take #67 in Season 4

* * *

They were still talking about it!

He just wanted them to change the subject. He kept saying he was tired from it all when he really was furious, burning inside, seething, ready to knock anyone out...

"You have to admit, XANA does have something for Yumi here," chuckled Odd. He looked between his friends, finally planting his laughing eyes on Yumi. "He is always trying to get you into the digital sea!"

"Shut up, Odd!" frowned Yumi, crossing her arms. "It's not my fault that this keeps happening!"

"You have to admit that Odd does have a point here," remarked Jeremie. "If he had not been virtualized at that very moment..."

"Bye bye, Yumi," teased Odd, grinning.

* * *

_Today was going to be, plainly, two tests, one quiz, soccer practice in the afternoon, and staying up at night, compliments to Odd and his music. Not only was he exhausted, he was drained, irritated, hungry, and everything in between._

_(By the way, he was **still **pissed about this morning._)

_It was not going to be a good day for him, that was for sure._

_He liked protecting the activated towers, going into Lyoko to defeat XANA's monsters. That was usually the highlight of his day when it seemed like the world was against him. When Jeremie called, saying that there was no attack and that the Jeremie with them was a clone made for his convenience, he just simply ruined his day even more._

_He eyed the clone, crossing his arms and glaring. He should not be so mad. It was not real, and it bought them more time to help them defeat XANA. Jeremie needed to be at class to keep up appearances, but it was also important to defeat XANA. It was the only option he had._

_Couldn't he have been absent for __**one **day?_

_He glared at it for a minute longer before he moved on in the lunch line._

_He watched as the Jeremie clone talked easily with Yumi at their table. She laughed at a comment he made before Odd slid into the conversation._

_Oh, he was furious now._

* * *

"What concerns me is the fact that William took his time before pushing you into the digital sea," commented Jeremie as he eyed Yumi.

"That was not William. It was XANA," Yumi shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Whether way, I hope that XANA does not makes a habit of this."

"Jeremie, if you talk anymore, I think that our poor buddy here is going to explode," chuckled Odd.

* * *

_He felt the familiar rush run through him when he raced to the factory, Aelita up ahead and Yumi by his side. His heartbeat pounded happily in his chest._

_He was glad to get away from school, the Jeremie clone, the exclamations of pride from Jim..._

_He just wanted to get away._

* * *

"I need to go to my dorm," Ulrich said shortly, getting out of his seat.

"I think one of us needs to follow him," whispered Aelita, watching him with the edge of her eyes. He slammed the door behind him, temporarily quieting the noisy cafeteria.

"If that's true, Ulrich should have died of a heart attack a long time ago."

"I'll go," interrupted Yumi. She glared at Odd for his remark before leaving to trail Ulrich into the forest.

* * *

_Now they were headed to the activated tower. His heart was pumping loudly in his ear, his legs numb beneath him._

_Oh great, the welcoming committee._

_He narrowed his eyes, spotting William from a distance. He readied himself, then leaped from his bike, steadying himself on the ground. He readied his sword.  
_

_Now it was time to have some fun._

* * *

"Odd, if you say another word, I will make sure that your hair will never look the same way in the future," he threatened, his body hidden by the foliage and the shadows.

"I'm insulted," joked Yumi as she followed his voice. She entered the dark clearing, bathed by the moonlight that entered through a small hole in the trees.

He cracked another twig in half, throwing the remnants away. "What do you want?" he asked shortly.

"What is with your temper?" she scowled, offended. She stopped about a few meters away from him, crossing her arms.

"No reason," he replied, standing up. He leaned against the tree, brushing his hands against each other to remove the dirt particles. "Just that you could have been lost forever. It's no big deal, honestly," he said sarcastically. He glared at her.

She narrowed her eyes. "And you are saying that it is my fault that it happened?"

A lone breeze blew through both of them. "Yes."

* * *

_All of those past moments, Valentines' Day, the mornings, after school, the school trips, all of the lost opportunities..._

_It was all because of him!_

_It was not just a sword battle. It seemed like a battle to the finish, for dominance. No more cracks about his age. It was time to show William what he was about.  
_

_He easily split himself, watching as William stared at the other copies curiously. He had him cornered. He was going to win this time.  
_

_It was all down to this._

_Next thing he knew, William had dissipated, becoming one with the ground, and then popped up and sliced through him, not only destroying his other copies but devirtualizing himself as well.  
_

_He walked out of the scanner, grabbing his abdomen. It hurt..._

_Turning around, Ulrich slammed his fist along the metal door._

_Even when he was possessed by XANA, he still won._

* * *

"Ulrich, you are just, urgh!" she groaned, stamping her boot onto the ground. "I don't understand how you can blame me for nearly dying. Are you saying that I want to die? Why don't you blame XANA for pushing me in?"

"That wouldn't do anything," he scowled. "I need you to understand..."

"Understand what?" she interrupted angrily. "Ulrich, you are irritating me right now, and I could just..."

"You are so annoying sometimes, you know that? It's so obvious that XANA just wants you gone and over with, and you're playing these mind games with me!"

"If you haven't noticed, Ulrich, XANA wants all of us gone!" she exclaimed, ignoring the bitter cold. She got into a battle stance, lowering herself, poised to strike. "If you think I cannot protect myself..."

He bowed, mocking her. "Bring it on."

* * *

_Now it was only Yumi and Aelita against William. He was so nervous, hands growing clammy and cold. Never had a mission been so close to worthless. Never had he questioned the world's safety so desperately._

_He was glad when he saw that all of the monsters were destroyed, yet it came with a price. Yumi barely had any life points left, and if she were to become devirtualized now by William..._

_He let out a breath of relief when Jeremie's clone dissipated into a screaming black mist, and eventually disappeared. He frowned. Aelita was in the tower, so Yumi was..._

_"Jeremie, William's trying to push me into the digital sea!"_

_Jeremie ran to his seat, pressing keys, trying to reassure her, then crying out loud that the equipment was too damaged. With Odd, he peered up at the computer's dents created when Odd tried to protect Jeremie from his infected clone._

_The next thing he knew, Odd was running to the elevators, yelling words that he just would not comprehend. _

_He could not understand the codes moving at rapid speeds on the monitor, though he stared intently at the two dots on the map of Lyoko, one red and one blue just barely overlapping by a curve. They were only dots._

_He scoffed._

_He wished it was just that simple._

* * *

They both ran up to each other. Yumi sent a punch to his abdomen. He twisted his forearm down to block the attack. He used the force of her attack to propel her a few steps back, bringing his arm to the side.

When he went forward to attack, she kicked both of his feet off of the ground by using both feet to kick his steady leg off of the ground. She grinned. "And you said I can't protect myself?"

"I never said such a thing," he replied easily, rolling onto his feet. She jumped up, trying to land a kick to the side of his head. He easily ducked, rolling to his feet again. When she missed, she mumbled a curse as she rolled through the air.

He surprised her with a flurry of punches when she landed. She blocked most of the attacks, eventually hitting elbow, paralyzing any more movement. She blocked his other arm, sending a kick to his exposed abdomen.

He was knocked to the ground. He rolled over, holding onto his side as he stood up. She flipped onto her feet neatly, meeting him in a battle stance.

"I said it is your fault that you almost fell into the digital sea," he said breathlessly. He kicked upwards.

"I said to blame it on XANA!" she exclaimed. She lowered her body, swinging her extended leg to kick him off balance. He dropped his leg, jumped over her leg, spinning around quickly to find her standing and grinning. "Tired?"

"Not at all," he replied shortly. He sent a kick to her side. She jumped up this time, and he ducked down, sliding his leg beneath her to ensure that she would not land easily. Seeing this, she twisted her body, using her hands to hop away from him.

"You are an arrogant jerk," she glared, flipping backwards to gain some distance. She prepared herself in a battle stance.

"Really?" he asked, bringing his arms in front of his face.

"Yes," she said. She punched towards his face, and when he brought his arm to block it, she punched him with her other hand towards his exposed abdomen. He flipped backwards, creating even more distance between them.

"You'd better believe it."

* * *

_He could not blame it on him. Jeremie was trying his best to resolve the issue, but he wanted so badly to knock Jeremie upside the head and force him to find a solution. How dare he say that he could not save her..._

_If William even **dared **to touch her..._

_He wanted to cry, that feeling squeezing his heart. He wanted to go into Lyoko right now, but he had been devirtualized when William sliced him with the sword. The attack still had him shocked and hurt, but he was willing to do anything for her. He would even fall into the digital sea for her._

_He did not want to lose her again, especially to that..._

_He stared at the two dots on the screen, barely moving but overlapping the edge._

* * *

"I can't breathe," she panted, lying down in the center of the clearing. She lifted her forearm up in front of her face slowly, glancing at her watch. "I have to get home soon, Ulrich."

"Stay," he said between short breaths. He was lying in the grass next to her, and soon enough, he used his arm to push himself up, planting himself above her. "Not yet."

"I have to," she insisted softly. She tried to move away to leave until she realized she was trapped on all sides. "Ulrich, I have to leave."

"Not yet," he repeated, looking down at her. His breathing slowed down drastically. "Please."

She stared into his eyes, distracted momentarily. They were never so close before. She could actually see her face reflected in his eyes, smell him, feel the sweat evaporating as the wind blew through her.

The moment was magical.

She was, without a doubt, losing sight of herself. She sighed. How did she get into this situation again?

"I'll stay," she mumbled.

* * *

_The dots had finally crossed over the line. He cried out, "No!", gripping the computer chair with a tight grip, glaring at the screen and widening his eyes in disbelief._

**This could not be happening**_._

_It could not end like this, so many unanswered questions left ignored for too long. All of those times he pretended that they were just friends, normal people, acting. Now it all seemed like a waste of an opportunity, and for it to end like _**this.**_  
_

_He never told her how he felt. All of those lost opportunities were lost now. He would not see her everyday. His cell phone was useless now that he had no one to call. She was his entire list of recent calls. She _**was **_his phone book._

_He could feel his reason for life pulled away from him as he heard her cry of despair, wishing that it was not happening, remembering the last time and that he at least got a last look at her pretty face..._

_Curse William!_

_And another dot appeared on the screen, moving quickly around Yumi, carrying away._

_Odd._

_He spoke, reassuring the rest of the group that she was still alive. Relieved, Ulrich fell on the floor, leaning against the Super Computer tiredly.  
_

_He was still tense when Jeremie cheered and shakily did a return to the past. A white light engulfed them all, and then...  
_

_They were in the factory. What happened in Lyoko did not happen._

_Yeah, right._

_They were talking about bringing the jerk back, the jerk who had pushed her into the digital sea. As long as he was concerned, he wanted William to stay in Lyoko forever._

_He watched her with the edge of his eyes. She gave him a panic attack..._

_She stood there, arms crossed, frowning at the floor._

_What was she so mad about? They had nearly lost her forever!_

_He had nearly lost her._

_He wanted to yell at her, ask her why she had so willingly nearly lost her life to William. Did she not see how he needed her to be with him, how he needed to know that she was his friend, that he had her full support, that she would still laugh at his jokes..._

_Did she not know how much he needed her?_

* * *

"Are you cold?" he asked her, breaking the peaceful silence. He was standing, shrugging off his jacket to show that he was generously willing to offer it to her. "It's so windy out."

She shook her head, brushing off her pants. "I should be going home now." He pulled his jacket back on. "It's late."

He sighed, checking the time on his own cell phone. "Do you want me to walk you?" He pocketed the device. "It's no problem."

She frowned, saying sternly, "Good night, Ulrich." She began her walk home.

"Good night," he said softly, breathing in deeply. The cold air burned his nostrils. The wind played with the remnants of their fight until it was just a memory. The sweat, the feel of her body so close to his...

"So this is how it ends," he pondered. Rubbing the goosebumps on his arms, he jogged back to campus.

**I need you to understand that I can't live without you...**

* * *

A/N: This chapter was late, because I had to look at the actual episode and I kept redoing the fight scene, also looking up Pencak Silat on the internet repeatedly. Sorry if I offended any students of Pencak Silat...


	5. Distance

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

A/N: I know I did not exactly do my best with this chapter, but I had to set a foundation for the next one.

Time: after Double Take

* * *

She eyed him, obviously wary. She ran her fingers through her hair consciously. Though he was not real, they looked the same! It was uncanny. It felt weird. Maybe it was the fact that he was not openly flirting with her.

Yes, that must be it.

It was just a small price to pay for what she had done, agreeing to let him join the team, knowing that he could not be trusted.

It was all her fault.

* * *

_"You are jealous of a __**clone**?" Odd exclaimed, nearly snorting the milk that he had in his mouth. Some drops of the liquid escaped through his nose. "You can't be serious, Ulrich!"_

_"Quiet it down, will you?" he asked, frowning. He looked around the room to see if they gained any listeners before glaring at his friend. "And I am not jealous, just annoyed."_

_"I don't think you're annoyed. I know that you are jealous," he stated obviously, chewing on his pancakes. "I know they are hanging out a lot-"_

_"More than a lot," he growled. "She follows him around everywhere. I understand it is her duty, but-"_

_"He's not real," he interrupted._

_He took the first bite of his breakfast since entering the room. "That's what you think."_

* * *

The laptop could be counted as Jeremie's girlfriend if you thought about it. His hands are always all over the wretched thing, reminding her of her mistake. Here she was, laughing at this guy's ignorance to keep up appearances.

Ulrich jogged up to join her, sitting next to her on the bench as they waited for classes to start.

"So how is it going?" he asked easily.

"Fine, when you consider the circumstances," she sighed glumly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I hope it will be over soon," he frowned.

She laughed.

* * *

_"You keep looking at them."_

_He tore his eyes away from his best friend and the clone. "No, I'm not!"_

_"Yes, you are," Aelita agreed, sipping on her juice. "Ever since classes ended for lunch and we came in here-"_

_"Why don't they eat with us?" Odd interrupted, putting down his sandwich. "I know that he is not the actual, you know, but they are still our friends."_

_"They?" Ulrich asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"Just because both of you guys are after Yumi doesn't mean we all have to get caught up in it," he protested, beginning to chew on his sandwich again._

_"Odd is right," she agreed._

_He sighed, taking out his cell phone._

* * *

"At least it's not that hard," he remarked. "Just watch him and laugh at every stupid thing he says."

"What he says sounds stupid, because he's ignorant," she frowned. "There's no need to insult him," she protested.

He shrugged, thinking otherwise.

* * *

_"It's not exclusive," he interrupted._

_"What?" he asked, turning to find his grinning friend. He frowned. "What do you want?"_

_"I want to cheer you up!" he announced. He pointed to him, then out of the window. He peered out of the window to find William surrounded by Yumi, Jeremie, and Aelita._

_"What are you saying?" he asked, irritated when he turned around to face him again._

_"Join them. It would help," he said softly. "It would look weird if he had no friends, you know, Romeo?"_

_He glared. "I have to study."_

_"You wouldn't want to help the cause?"_

_"No." He turned his head stubbornly like the idea of such a thing disgusted him completely._

_He shook his head. "Good luck with that." He walked away._

* * *

"He reminds me so much of..." She shook her head. "I know it is just a copy, but it was my fault that he got taken. I let him join us. I knew he could not be trusted and-"

"It's not your fault," he interrupted. "It's XANA's fault entirely."

She gave him an anguished smile. "That's not what you said a week ago."

He shrugged, a simple roll of the shoulders. "This problem is completely different."

She smirked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him. "Do you need a reality check?" She crossed her arms against her chest.

* * *

_"You are being so immature," he frowned after spitting the remnants of his toothpaste into the sink. "I am trying my best here. You do not have to avoid everyone and worsen the situation, Ulrich. We don't need someone distressed here."_

_"I agree with Einstein. She kept asking about you the entire time we were outside," Odd smirked, making sure the towel wrapped around his waist was secure. "It was rude to just avoid her like that."_

_"Why are you doing it?" Jeremie asked Ulrich curiously, putting his spectacles on after putting his towel down. "He's just a copy, so whatever history you have is in the past."_

_"It's just that..." He sighed, turning to look at his reflection in the mirror. "He looks just like him, and we never got along. Two sides of the same coin, I guess. The fact that he follows Yumi around-"_

_"He has to. They share the same classes, and they both are in the same grade," he interrupted, frowning. "It is the only logical and rational solution."_

_"I never liked him, and it won't change, okay?" he burst, gripping the counter top. He wanted to yell at him, ask him why he had to come up with such a stupid idea. "We're still enemies, no matter what happens. I cannot just change my morals to hang around that jerk."_

_"It's not changing morals, it's helping someone in need, but whatever you prefer, lover boy," Odd dismissed, combing his hair upwards beside him. "Just don't come crying to me the next time he gets possessed and beats your sorry butt."_

* * *

"Well, it is," she exclaimed angrily. "It's taking everyone so much time to fix what I caused."

"Would you have imagined what would have happened if we let him join when we all wanted him to?" he asked her. "I am pretty sure that the same thing would have happened. You just prolonged it. It's not your fault, okay?"

She glared. "That is not really reassuring. I'm making everyone suffer."

"Well," he started, grinning, "I've never heard anyone say that saving the world was going to be an easy job."

* * *

_He gazed at the ceiling for the eighth time that night, his friends' words beating in his subconscious. He was being reasonable. He was trying to do the right thing. He could not tarnish both of their reputations by suddenly acting like the past was history, like it was just undone over time. Life did not act that way._

_He was going to come back from XANA's control, and they would fight like before, so what was the use of acting like they were the best of buddies? That would seem so suspicious, and when they brought him back..._

_He was brought up from his thoughts when his phone rang. He answered it quickly._

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey," she greeted him._

_"Hey Yumi," he said, sitting up. He checked the clock. "It's close to midnight."_

_"I know," she answered nervously. Her breath hitched. "Are you mad at me?"_

_His brow furrowed at the hidden accusation. "No."_

_"Then why did you keep your distance all day?" she asked, confused. "I didn't say a word to you at all, and when I asked about you, Odd said you were studying."_

_His heart twinged momentarily. "Yumi-"_

_"Did I do something wrong?" she asked worriedly, her voice growing louder._

_"No," he answered quickly. "It's just that..."_

_"It's just that what?" she interrupted._

_"William," he quickly stated._

_She paused. "You know that he is a brainless clone, right?" she asked him obviously, relaxing._

_He sighed. "I know, but-"_

_"You are one of my closest friends. Just end this thing with William already. Don't you see that he is in trouble? It is already enough that Jeremie stays up at night and I have to keep an eye on him all the time. The least you can do is not alienate yourself."_

_"I guess," he admitted._

_"Ulrich, we need you on our team, okay?" she finally said. "I-" She cleared her throat. "I don't want to lose you as a friend, either."_

_"You won't," he frowned. "I'll always be there."_

_"That's what he said," she said bluntly. "I have to go," she said quickly. "Good night."_

_"Wait," he interrupted her. "I mean it. I will always be there."_

_She paused before answering, "Me too. Now good night." She hung up._

_He sighed, putting his phone on his bedside table._

_He would talk to her tomorrow..._

* * *

"It's just hard," she finally concluded, finally sighing. She took William's wrist in hand, not seeing Ulrich's seething fury but just an unfathomable expression. "Class will be starting soon. With the crowd and all..."

"Yeah," interrupted Ulrich. "Bye."

She stood up, glancing at him one more time before dragging William with his wrist. "Bye."


	6. Distance, pt 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko._

* * *

"Ulrich," a voice whispered. He literally jumped in surprise, the door closing behind him of its own accord. The room was dark once again, except for the moonlight creeping in through the window.

"Where were you?" It was Odd. He sighed, walking forward to his closet, opening it as quietly as he could. Odd yawned, the mattress underneath himself creaking noisily. "You're late by," he glanced at the clock, "a few hours."

"I had a few errands to run," he shrugged, changing into his nightclothes.

"With Yumi?" he asked, voice teasing. "What did you guys do? Make out in the moonlight?" His feet padded on the carpet floor as he sat up.

"Shut up, Odd," he frowned, sitting on his bed.

"Tell me!" he whispered urgently.

He relaxed into his covers, staring at the ceiling, his hand locked behind his head.

"All right."

He paused before replying. "So...?" he asked excitedly, tapping his feet on the floor.

"All right! Okay, let me think," he said, irritated. "It went like this..."

* * *

_"Yumi, I need to talk to you," he said urgently, jogging to her. He reached her before she even passed the gate._

_She smiled. "Good morning to you, too."_

_"Can we go somewhere private?" he asked impatiently._

_"Whoa!" she exclaimed, jerking her elbow from his hold. "Ulrich, what's up? I haven't seen you this jittery since last spring break when you had to go home to your parents."_

_"It's important," he said. "C'mon, I really need to talk to you."_

_"All right! Just don't touch me, okay?" she demanded, bringing up her fists in defense. She eventually brought them down, watching him suspiciously._

_He walked with her through the gates onto campus. He looked at her, pondering, finally noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "How did you sleep last night?" he asked conversationally._

_"All right," she replied shortly. She looked around campus. "Where are Jeremie, Aelita, and Odd?"_

_"Somewhere," he dismissed, finally stopping in the shade under a large tree. "Yumi..."_

_"Yes?" she asked impatiently, looking around campus. She widened her eyes, gripping her bag. "Oh my... I forgot about William!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry Ulrich, maybe at lunch?" She ran off to rescue William, who was surrounded by a taunting Sissi and her gang._

_He sighed._

_Life was full of lost opportunities, all right._

* * *

"Oh yeah, I had to serve that detention this morning," remembered Odd, gazing at the ceiling wistfully. He dropped his gaze to Ulrich. "What else happened today?"

"I can't go to sleep?" asked Ulrich, irritated. He covered his yawn.

"No!" he said urgently. "I must know, and this is the only time where you will not actually follow your threats after a minute you give them. I'll follow the consequences tomorrow."

Ulrich shrugged. "Anyhow..."

* * *

_He watched as she followed William into the lunch line, and they both sat with him at their table. His eyes instinctively narrowed when he watched him, but he shook his head._

_He is __**not **real, he reminded himself._

_"About what you said this morning," Yumi started, taking a bite out of her sandwich. "It sounds urgent." She dropped her sandwich. "Oh my gosh, you're not hurt, are you?"_

_"No, nothing like that," he reassured her. She sighed in relief, eating her sandwich again._

_"Okay then," she said. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"_

_"Well, it is about yesterday."_

_He watched as she winced, bringing her sandwich back to her tray. She stared at him with hard eyes. "Which part?"_

_"When you fell," he admitted._

_She sighed, rubbing her hands together. "Ulrich, I thought we already talked about this. I did not have my fans with me, and he had already damaged the computer so that Jeremie could not start his program to devirt-"_

_"Hi Sissi," greeted William._

_"Oh look, William and Yumi are sitting next to each other! They look so cute together, don't you think Ulrich-dear?" asked a high-pitched voice from behind him._

_He did not have to look to see who it was. "Sissi..."_

_"Why don't you leave us alone? Go make out with Herve already," suggested Yumi disgustingly._

_"We all want you to leave," confirmed Ulrich. "Just leave us alone. No one wants to see you or hear your voice. Just talking to you gives me a headache."_

_She retorted loudly with hope in her voice, finally stalking away purposely._

_Ulrich groaned, dropping his forehead on the lunch table._

_The lunch bell rang._

_He dropped his head again._

* * *

"You know, that kills brain cells," reminded Odd promptly.

"I know, Jeremie tells me that all the time," dismissed Ulrich.

"Ah Sissi, the bad apple. She acts all sweet, then when you get to know her, she ends up to be vile," he observed matter-of-factly.

Ulrich stared at his roommate strangely, and then shook his head. "Anyway..."

* * *

_She yelped when a hand gripped her from the hallway. She was yanked into the janitor's closet, and a hand covered her lips to ensure no screaming._

_"It's Ulrich," he reassured her, moving his hand away from her mouth._

_"What are you doing?" she exclaimed in a hushed whisper, struggling against his hands, which were acting as shackles. "I'm going to scream."_

_"I have something really important to tell you," he said convincingly. "Yumi, after yesterday, I figure that I need to tell you that-"_

_"Ulrich, I need to get to class!" she exclaimed angrily. She jerked his hands away from her wrists. She massaged them, glaring at him and opening the door. "I'll see you later."_

* * *

He scowled as his roommate fell to the floor, covering his own mouth and using the other arms to cover his abdomen. "Oh my gosh, Ulrich, you pulled her into the janitor's closet?" he exclaimed in a barely concealed howl. "Do you know what people **_do _**in those closets?"

"I know, not one of my best ideas, but she had no time to talk to me," he tried to reason. "It was the only time during class-"

"In the janitor's closet?" he asked, voiceless as he tried to conceal his laughter. After pounding his fist on the floor a few times, he panted as he finally sat on his bed, staring at the window. "Do you know how many girls I made out with in tha-"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," repeated Ulrich, plugging his fingers into his ears, causing Odd to begin laughing again, shaking at his friend's poor situation.

"I think I'm going to die here," he laughed, tears coming down his cheeks. "You should just leave before you say another word. If you say anything else, I will just die."

"That wouldn't be so bad," Ulrich mumbled.

Odd sat up straight or at least attempted to. He covered his mouth with his hand obediently. It seemed he was laughing through his wide, attentive eyes.

Ulrich eyed his roommate suspiciously before continuing. "As I was saying..."

* * *

_"You are really irritating me today, do you know that?" asked Yumi when she found him next to her. "I can walk home by myself, thank you very much."_

_"Hear me out," panted Ulrich as he tried to keep up with her power-walk pace. "After tomorrow, I've realized something. With XANA on our tails, I don't think we should wait for another moment where one of us is going to fall into the digital sea._

_She flipped around to face him, scowling. "Are you saying that I will fall into it again? I know that I did two times yesterday, but that was by complete accident. The second time happened becau-"_

_"I know," he interrupted. "But what if I fall in? I don't want to live a lost opportunity."_

_"Live a lost opportunity?" she asked, the scowl disappearing. "Ulrich, what do you mean by that?"_

_He took a deep breath. "Yumi," he started, "I think it was the first time I saw you tha-"_

_She widened her eyes, looking over his shoulder. "William," she whispered. She took her hands from his, giving him an apologetic smile. "I have to make sure he does not mess anything up and that he actually goes to his right dorm this time. Then I have to go straight home. I'm sorry, Ulrich. Save it for tomorrow?" she suggested, already a few meters away from him._

_"Okay..." he said, watching as she ran to the dorms' building._

_He huffed, kicking at the pebbles on the ground. After a moment's hesitation, he ran into the forest._

* * *

"**Re**-**_jected_**!" Odd sang. "Ulrich got rejected, re, re, rejected, jected," he sang.

He glared at his roommate. "That is very encouraging."

"It is," he agreed.

Ulrich sighed. "I want to tell her, but she always runs for William or whatever. She has so many distractions!"

"It's not your fault, that's for sure." He paused, watching his friend's defeated expression. "But why were you out so long?"

"Didn't I tell you I was in the forest?" he asked, preparing himself for bed.

"What did you do in there?" Odd asked curiously, copying his roommate's actions. "I know you weren't defeating monsters, that's for sure."

"Sulking," he answered shortly, a yawn following afterward. "I broke things."

"For several hours?" asked Odd in disbelief.

"No," he replied. He shuffled in bed. "Good night."

Odd scratched his scalp in confusion before finally saying, "Good night."

* * *

_He eyed his phone in his hand. He sighed, leaning his head against the tree trunk behind himself. Should he call her or not? It was well after curfew, and he was certain that she would be up..._

_His fingers worked on their own, dialing the remembered number deftly. He held the phone by his ear, waiting for an answer._

_"Ulrich?" She yawned. "What is it?"_

_"I need to talk to you," he answered honestly._

_She yawned again, responding in irritation. "Do you know what time it is?"_

_"It's important," he said bluntly._

_She paused, shuffling on the other end of the conversation. "What do you need to tell me?"_

_"I've been meaning to tell you this," he started. He shook his head. "I would rather talk to you in person, though."_

_"Then I'll see you tomorrow," she said._

_"No!" he exclaimed. He sighed, combing his hair with his fingers. "I just want you to see that I..."_

_"See that you what?" she asked curiously when he stopped. "Ulrich?"_

_He mumbled, throwing a rock. "I'm glad that Odd saved you from falling into the digital sea."_

_She paused. "I am, too."_

_He sighed in defeat. "I'll see you tomorrow?"_

_"Sure. Bye," and she hung up._

_"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he muttered to himself, gazing up at the night time sky._

* * *

_A/N: I was representing another factor in the love triangle with this chapter._

_This is the end of the mini-plot I had in this story. From here on, I will be having different one-shots representing the love triangle. I will try to magnify the love triangle in any situations or episodes if they are suggested in any comments or messages._

_Until then, leave a review :D_


	7. Sick

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko_

* * *

_(A couple of months ago...)_

He rapped his knuckles on the front door, and he had pressed the doorbell two times before a young boy finally swung open the front door, a video game in hand.

He gazed upwards to eye the visitor. "You've never been inside our house before," he stated, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm guessing you already know who I am by now?"

He snickered. "Are you Yumi's boyfriend?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly, chuckling. He peered inside the dark house. "Is your sister here?"

"Yeah," he replied easily, closing the door behind them both, switching on the hallway light. "I'll lead you to her room."

"All right..." he replied nervously.

* * *

_"I just wonder why she isn't here. She should have gotten here a few minutes ago..." He paced back and forth, ignoring the laughter of his friends._

_"Quit worrying. You act like she died or something," Odd laughed. He threw his cup of hot chocolate into the trashcan._

_"She's sick," Aelita confirmed, throwing her phone into her bag. She looked at Ulrich. "She won't be coming in today."_

_"Aw, poor Romeo here won't get to see Juliet in school today." He patted his friend on the back. "That is horrible news there."_

_"Shut up, Odd," he frowned, crossing his arms._

**_I'll just see her after school..._**

* * *

"Hey," he greeted softly.

"What are you doing here?" she frowned, sitting up. Her voice was strained. "Did Hiroki let you in?" She rubbed her hand against her irritated nose.

He laughed. "He also showed me where your room was. I'm committing this all to long-term memory, by the way."

She groaned, then glanced at the books in his arms. "You brought my homework?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is that why you're here?"

"Of course," he answered obviously, placing the books on her desk. "We're having a math test tomorrow on linear functions and quadratic equations," he reminded her.

"All right then. Thanks. You can leave now." She sneezed, yanking a tissue from the box beside her bed. She brushed the tissue against her red nose. "I like to do my homework alone," she stated dully, irritated by his simple presence.

"I'm not leaving," he declared. She frowned when he took a chair from her desk and sat by the bed, legs planted over each side. He rested his head over the top, gazing at her defiantly.

"I like to do my homework alone," she repeated even louder, congested.

"And I'm not leaving," he repeated.

She glared at him for a moment before groaning, extending her arm. "Hand me math then."

* * *

_"I think I got a cold from yesterday," she moaned. "My parents will not let me out of bed."_

_"I'm sorry for being such an idiot," he apologized, remembering yesterday. "We should not have stopped off at that store while walking you home from school."_

_"It's all right," she reassured him. She coughed. "I should not have forced you to follow me in. It was fun, I guess."_

_"Fun?" he asked, remembering the day before, the rain that soaked them through suddenly when they stepped out of the store. They had to race, unseeing, through the pouring water, to her house until they were on her patio where they were shielded from the rain. "Well, did you take any medicine?" he asked, changing the subject._

_"This morning and a few minutes ago," she replied, sneezing. "Don't worry," she teased him._

_"You have to be well, you know? Jeremie is not very pleased that we are short one warrior."_

_"Tell him to shove it," she growled, coughing. "Oh, my mom is here. Bye," she whispered, hanging up._

_"Romeo misses his Juliet!" sang Odd, flicking his peas at him. Ulrich groaned, turning his head as he put his cell phone into his pocket._

* * *

"Are you serious?" she laughed, solving equations on graph paper. She coughed, quickly scribbling her work. "She deserves it."

"I have to agree with you on this one," he chuckled. "I wish that I was the one that did it, though I don't have enough super glue."

"You're too devious," she remarked, closing the textbook. She held her hand in front of him. "Hand me literacy."

"Are you sure that you should be doing homework when you're sick like this?" he asked in concern, keeping the book out of her reach. "You should rest."

She frowned. "Hand me the literacy textbook," she demanded in annoyance.

He sighed, handing it over. "You should be glad that I'm here right now."

"I should be glad what?" she asked, distractedly. He sighed.

* * *

_"You've sent her so many text messages, it's not even funny," Odd whispered. "Try to pay more attention. This is going to be on the mid-term."_

_"Since when have you been so concerned about tests?" Ulrich mumbled, his gaze quickly switching from his phone under his desk to the instructor in the front of the room._

_"If I don't pass this, I'll be held back," he whispered._

_"Yeah, yeah," Ulrich mumbled distractedly, his fingers pressing rapidly on the buttons. "Important test, I'll keep that in mind."_

* * *

"You know, I could have just called for the school work," she remarked. "You did not have to walk all the way here and let me put germs all over your stuff."

"I don't really believe that anything from you is that bad, germs included."

She scrunched her nose. "You're gross."

* * *

_"You've called me so many times today," she complained._

_"I know, but..."_

_"And I am all right, okay?" she interrupted. She paused. "My mom is getting suspicious. I'm not supposed to be talking on the phone," she explained in a hushed whisper._

_"Are you allowed to have visitors?" he asked her, pulling his brown hair back from his face._

_She exhaled before finally saying tentatively, "Yes..."_

_"All right, expect me there." He hung up._

* * *

"I'm done," she declared, coughing. "I feel so much better." She closed the open textbook in her lap, pushing it closer to him so he could put it away.

"Doing work makes you feel better?" he asked, smirking. "I thought that girls preferred chocolate, but hey, I'm just a guy."

"I am not like any other girl," she growled. "Just leave, all right?" she asked, irritated. "I'm tired."

"All right," he chuckled, walking out into the hallway. "I'll see you later." He closed the door gently behind him.

She sighed, lying all the way down in her bed. She closed her eyes, resting in her comforter. She just wanted to sleep...

"Hey," a hushed voice whispered, interrupting her rest. Her mattress contorted to balance the extra weight. "Yumi!"

"I thought I told you to leave," she grumbled, her eyes fluttering open. She widened her eyes. "Ulrich!" she exclaimed in surprise.

The open window allowed a light breeze to travel throughout the room. "You thought you told me to leave?" he teased her.

"What?" she asked, frowning. "You're late." He rested his hand over her forehead temporarily.

"I texted you, but I guess you didn't get them," he frowned. "I'm not too late, right?" he asked, glancing at the closed door. "Because I don't want you to get in any trouble with your pare-"

She smiled, interrupting him. "You're never too late."

* * *

A/_N: Okay, tell me honestly that you knew it was William from the beginning :D_


	8. Halloween

_Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko_

A/N: I really want to make this chapter its own individual story, but it's nowhere near Halloween. Plus, I have so many other projects to finish, so I have to be satisfied with this.

**Time: Second season of Code: Lyoko on October 31st**

**Theme: Butterfly by smile.dk**

(Only because there are so many Youtube videos based on this song and it fits the UY relationship. You must listen to the song or at least read the lyrics!)

* * *

The lights were now an eerie green and blue in the dark room. Scary-themed music boomed out of the speakers, and Yumi made sure to keep her distance from the ever-moving crowd, lest she get pulled in accidentally. She scowled, crossing her arms self-consciously and checking the clock on the wall behind the bar. Where was Ulrich?

"Hey," greeted William, dressed in pale white stage make-up and fake blood trailing down his mouth. She shook her head momentarily, smiling weakly when he walked up to her to only get a cup of fruit punch. He took out his vampire teeth, frowning as he asked her, "You're alone?"

"Waiting for someone," she answered honestly, watching his scowl go even deeper as he chugged down the drink. She glanced at the entrance once more to only be disappointed by the sight. "He said he would be here in a few minutes."

"Well, that's late to me," he remarked, watching the wall clock. "It's been half an hour since the dance started." He discarded his empty cup in a trash can, extending his hand to her. "Do you want to dance?"

She nervously glanced between the empty entrance and his outstretched hand. William did have a point. She was supposed to be having fun, not wait around for a late date. She sighed.

"It's just a dance," he chuckled, surprising her as he took her hand and pulled her into the moving crowd. "Just for this song," he promised, and she found her body believing his smooth words as she swayed quickly with the beat.

* * *

_"Wake up, Ulrich!" shouted his jumpy roommate after pulling out his earplugs. Ulrich's eyes shot open as he covered his ears and jerked out of his bed onto the soft carpet._

_"What?" he grumbled, fully awake. He wiped the edges of his wide eyes tiredly, looking up at Odd's silly expression from his sprawled position on the floor. "Why did you wake me up? It's Sunday!" He groaned, flipping his pillow with his arm over his head and pressing it there as he attempted to sleep on the floor._

_"It's Halloween!" he cheered, taking the warm pillow from the slept-in bed and whacking Ulrich in the head a few times. "Wake up sleepy head! Tonight's the dance!"_

_Ulrich mumbled some incoherent words before pausing to register what his roommate said. "The dance?" he exclaimed, jumping up from the floor with wide eyes. "Today's Halloween!" He glanced at his alarm clock and dreaded what the blinking red lights read: 9:07 AM._

_Odd laughed as he watched his friend hurry to his closet and quickly change into his normal attire. "I guess we should not have stayed up last night throwing toilet paper all over the girl's floors."_

_"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Ulrich asked hysterically as he struggled to pull on his cargo pants and hop into his sneakers with one leg in the air. "I forgot to ask Yumi to the dance!"_

_"Well, I had to eat breakfast," scowled Odd as he crossed his arms, obviously offended. "They were serving sugar cookies with sprinkles."_

_Ulrich groaned, rolling his eyes from his friend as he jumped up with his tied sneakers, barely missing the door frame before rushing into the hallway._

* * *

"It's been an hour and a half," said Yumi worriedly as she glanced at the wall clock again. Was he ditching her?

"You're going to wait for someone who is most likely not going to come?" asked William in amusement. It was unfortunate that he chose to stay by her to wait for her late date, but it was his choice. Yumi glared in his direction, crossing her arms.

"Ulrich is dedicated. He would not just decide to not show up." Even she had trouble believing her own words.

"He would keep you waiting for an hour and a half?" he asked incredulously, unconsciously taking a step toward her. "Yumi, I know that Ulrich is your friend and all that, but he should not keep you waiting like this. It's insulting." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "I would know."

"He'll show up," she said uncertainly, frowning as she looked at the entrance. There was still no sight of him.

* * *

_"Hey Yumi!" he greeted breathlessly. She stopped in her steps, turning around to catch a breathless Ulrich Stern running her way. Folding her arms over her chest, she raised an eyebrow when she looked over his appearance._

_"You slept in," she observed, looking at his messy hair and the buttons in the wrong holes on his shirt. She smiled, hiding her snicker behind her hand. "I wondered where you were at breakfast. Odd was there."_

_"Odd should have woken me up," growled Ulrich, rubbing his eye for a second. "Anyway Yumi, I know that tonight is the dance."_

_"Me, too," she said slowly, wondering why he brought up the topic._

_"Well, I wanted to know, if you aren't going with any guys or anything..." He paused, and she watched with amusement as his face grew pink. "Would you go with me?"_

_She purposely waited before answering him. "Of course." She smiled. "You're not picking me up, right? I hate that."_

_"All right," he said, his face going lighter with each word. "We'll meet each other in the gym for the dance in our costumes by the punch bowl."_

_She nodded in agreement. When they began to walk to the dorms' building, the laughter that was building up from the moment he reached her began to escape in small chuckles._

_"What is it?" he asked curiously._

_"Nothing," she said between short breaths when they walked into the building._

* * *

"You know, that is an interesting costume you're wearing," he remarked casually. He waved his black cape around.

It was unlike her to be so self-conscious. She had spent days working on the details of her costume and getting the proper fabric and such, so being complimented on it truly washed away her bad mood, at least for a short while. "Thanks."

"So you're a fairy?" he inquired.

"A butterfly," she corrected him. "A black butterfly."

"That's awesome."

"It is," she said distractedly, watching the entrance. She pulled out her cell phone.

* * *

_"Don't blame him for it. You should have kept it out of reach!" exclaimed Odd defensively, keeping his valuable possession cradled in his arms._

_"It was on the top shelf of my closet. Don't talk about out of reach to me," Ulrich retorted, holding the soiled suit in his hands. "You and your..." He let out an aggravated groan, kicking into the air in frustration. "What else am I supposed to do? I have to meet Yumi in an hour and my only costume is ruined. I'm not going to her smelling like a toilet."_

_"We can always try to find a dry cleaners," suggested Odd. "The dance is four and a half hours away."_

_Ulrich glared at him. "You're paying."_

* * *

"This day is a disappointment. He didn't answer his phone or anything." She frowned, her arms folded in front of her chest sadly. "I'm so angry right now." She glanced at the boy next to her. "You don't have to stay with me. It's already enough that it's been a couple of hours."

"Stay with me instead," he insisted. "It's obvious that he won't be coming to the dance, and a girl like you deserves the most fun she can get."

She smiled weakly, putting her hand in his extended one. "How do you know what kind of girl I am?"

"I just know you," he shrugged, pulling her onto the dance floor once again. For once, she easily followed.

* * *

_"This is just the best day of my life today," Ulrich said sarcastically, his suit in hand when they walked out of the dry cleaners. "There's a reason why the label says, "Do not dry clean."_

_"Hey, you can go as a ghost..." Odd trailed off, his hands in his pockets guiltily as he looked around. He stopped, pointing to the building across the street. "A costume shop!"_

_"I doubt that I can buy a costume in time for the dance," Ulrich said dryly, throwing his permanently damaged costume into the public trash can._

_Odd tugged on his arm and they hurried to the store. "Let's try it. I'll pay," he offered. They hurried into the store._

_Ulrich sighed in defeat. "I'll try it."_

* * *

Her heart was not in the dancing. It was as if half of her was on the dance floor with William and the other half was by the punch bowl, waiting for Ulrich. She was disappointed with him and embarrassed by her predicament. How dare he ditch her! She was actually anticipating today...

"Hey William, I'm going to get a drink, all right?" she slipped out of the crowd, sweating and breathing heavily as she walked by the bar. Not many people were around, and she was glad to have this extra space.

She took quick sips between short breaths, keeping her eye on the entrance.

And he appeared.

* * *

_"You wanna go as a bear?" Odd asked, sifting through the glittery costumes._

_Ulrich was pacing the floor nervously. "It's been half an hour into the dance. Let me call her." He reached into his pocket, glancing at the glass door occasionally._

_"How about a tiger? A chef? Batman?"_

_Ulrich widened his eyes, feeling through all of the pockets in his cargo pants. "Drats! I left my phone in our room!"_

_"A superstar?"_

_Ulrich turned to run out of the store. "I have to go back to our dorm and get my phone! She could have been calling me and..."_

_"Ulrich, how about this costume?" Odd pulled something out of the rotating rack for his friend to see._

_He stopped at the door, turning to face his friend. "What? Get whatever you want and meet me in our dorm." He pushed open the door and ran out of the building._

_"Okay." Odd smirked, picking the costume out of the rack and running to the cash register with a large grin on his face._

* * *

She had it all so perfectly planned out. She would smack him on the face and then cause a scene to embarrass him in front of the student body.

But for some reason, she could not move at all. She was face-to-face with her late date, who she cursed all through the night.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he apologized breathlessly, the words coming off his tongue so easily. "Kiwi messed up my costume, and I got it dry cleaned when it couldn't be so I had to get a new one, and then I realized I didn't have my phone-"

"Stop!" She raised her eyebrows, her arms folding in front of her chest automatically. "You were late because your costume was messed up? That was why you left me waiting for nearly two hours?" She pointed to the moving crowd. "Do you see that half of the kids here don't even have costumes on?" she raged.

"I'm so sorry, Yumi! I did not mean for this to happen." He ran his hand through his hair nervously. He really wished that XANA would attack so that Jeremie could run a return-to-the-past trip.

"I've been waiting for you," she pointed out, scowling.

"You haven't been back yet, so..." A sweaty William appeared, his hair clinging to his skin. He frowned when he caught sight of Ulrich. "Oh, your date finally showed up."

* * *

_"Don't you love it?" exclaimed Odd happily when he pulled the costume out of the packaging. "This is the perfect costume! Yumi will be all over you like white on rice!"_

_"Just terrific," Ulrich murmured. "It's been an hour now and I still can't find my phone!" He looked up at his annoyingly jumpy friend. "What's the use of wearing a costume if she might be with someone like William or something? She's mad at me!"_

_"C'mon, it's better to show up late than not show up at all," Odd insisted, throwing the jumbled cloth over his sulking friend's head. "Get off that bed and change into this."_

_Ulrich sighed, throwing the cloth next to him as he put his feet on the floor noisily. "Do I have to?"_

_Odd crossed his arms, glaring at his friend. "You need to."_

* * *

"I'm sorry I'm late, Yumi, but this day has been the worst for me!" He threw up his hands angrily. He really had nothing to say from there, because it was the truth. All he wanted was to spend some time with her, but he did not want it like this. He sighed. Everything was going wrong.

"Really?" she asked, feigning interest sarcastically. "Were you stood up?"

"At least I showed up," he protested. He sighed in defeat, his hand pushing his thick bangs out of his face while his arm dropped by his side. "I really wanted to enjoy the dance with you tonight, you know."

"Me too!" she exclaimed angrily. "That's why I'm disappointed that you didn't show up for nearly two hours!"

"I would never do that purposely," he told her sadly. "I can't even find my phone!"

"You stood me up, Ulrich," she retorted plainly, dismissing his excuse.

"I know, and I'm really sorry. I wish I hadn't done that to you, because you don't deserve it. Please, please, please will you forgive me?"

"Oh no, not the puppy dog eyes," she mumbled, turning away from him, but even when she was not looking at him, something tugged at her heart. He did not have his cell phone, which explained why he never answered her calls, and he was honestly sorry.

After a few moments of hesitation, she turned to face him slowly. "Okay." She still had that look of distaste on her face. "I forgive you."

He sighed in relief, observing her costume at once. "I like your costume."

She was about to retort when she noticed the redness invading his face. Nodding slowly in some form of compromise, she asked him, "And you're a samurai?"

He grimaced, fingering the hilt of his plastic katana. It felt like she was accusing him of another crime. "It was all Odd's idea."

She laughed, easing his stress. "Well, you look good."

He stared at her costume and the intricate design painted on her face. "You, too." The redness grew darker on his cheeks, and she felt heat creep up her skin, immediately glad that she wore white stage mak-up over his face. She poured herself a cup of punch as a fast-paced techno song came up. Her foot tapped of its own accord, but she really did not want to dance.

"Here, c'mon," he encouraged her, tugging on her wrist.

"I don't really want to..." She struggled against him. She did not want to dance with him. It seemed all right with William, but with Ulrich, it just seemed awkward...

"You like this song," he insisted, eventually pulling her closer to the dance floor. "You said so yourself." He held onto her hands, swinging them playfully with the song, and she could not help but smile as he attempted to get rid of the tension surrounding them.

A slow song played suddenly, surprising her into staying still. It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. Ulrich wrapped his arms around her and she reluctantly did the same. She let out a shaky breath as they began to sway to the beat. When was he ever so close to her?

It did not really matter, she decided. She wished they would stay like this forever.

* * *

_"Where's Ulrich?" asked Jeremie, staying by Aelita, who was being the DJ for the entire dance. "Yumi has been dancing away with William most of the dance. I kept calling him but he never answered the calls."_

_"Well, he's getting changed into his costume," shrugged Odd, fixing the long, black wig over his head. "What do you think? Groovy's cool, isn't it?"_

_"Sure, the best costume I've seen all over the dance floor. Even better than Sissi's witch costume." He sighed at Odd's proud stance as he searched the crowd. "You know, Ulrich has been late for a couple of hours now. Aren't you going to tell Yumi that Ulrich is coming?"_

_"Nah," grinned Odd. A couple of girls dressed in cheerleader outfits caught his attention. "Einstein, I'll call you when I need some help." He shined a strangely familiar device in the light before pulling it into his pocket and running off._

_Jeremie turned around, shaking his head as he turned to Aelita. "When Ulrich finds out..." He smirked despite himself, swaying gently to the beat of his Princess._

* * *

"That was nice," he commented as they left the school grounds and began to enter the forest. "Here, I want to show you to a place..." He guided her through the foliage slowly, narrowly avoiding a few branches from overhead.

"The forest?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know that we have been here countless times."

"I just want to get away from the crowd," he admitted, leading her away from the clearing. "I want to show you it anyway."

"It's all dark," she said. She was not one for childish fears, but she would not admit her fear of the dark and the unexpected. It would make her seem immature.

"I'm here," he reassured her, gripping her wrist firmly. "Don't worry."

They continued to trail through the shrubbery and tree branches. To Yumi, they could have been walking blindly through the woods. This was the farthest she had ever gone through the forest, she realized. They went even farther, eventually going through the grassy hilltop and going straight through to the forest again.

Then he stopped.

She thought that going through the grassy hilltop would amaze her, but now they were on rocky land. The pebbles crunched underneath her white ballet slippers as she walked forward.

"I never knew that this was here," she said, astonished as she knelt by the running water that ran through. "I still don't understand..."

"When I get away," he started, kneeling next to her, "I look at my reflection in the water. When I feel lost, I go here to find myself where it seems no one else can find me. When you cannot find me anywhere else, you'll know where to search."

"How did you find this place?" she asked curiously, looking down at the stream as she knelt by it. She was stunned by her clear reflection. Was that really her?

"I was randomly walking," he shrugged, silently admiring her reflection. "You won't tell anyone, right?"

She sighed, leaning back against the large rock, her wings ruffling against her back. "Of course, not. It's your secret hiding place."

He breathed in relief, leaning next to her. "So next time you need to find your samurai after searching every other place, you'll know where to find me."

"Because I need my samurai," she teased him. She extended her legs out fully, sighing in content as she looked up at the moon. "I'm glad you showed me this place. It's so beautiful at night."

"It is," he agreed as she rested her head on his shoulder tiredly. He glanced at her discreetly. "It is."

* * *

It was supposed to him moving with her throughout the dance, holding her close when the slow song came up, making her smile and laugh. Sure they danced, but it did not seem like enough for him.

It made no sense. He was with her throughout the entire dance. He was late for a couple of hours, and here she had already forgiven him though he had stood her up. What about him made her forgive him so easily?

He sighed, fisting his hands as he kicked random pebbles out of his path. He would not give up, no matter what anyone said.

He walked out of the building, stalking back to his dorm.

But it was so hard.

* * *

_A/N: I know that this does not really belong in this story, but I included all three characters, didn't I? I know some moments were cliche, but it fit the moment._

_Try to guess everyone's costumes XD That's my challenge._

_I need inspiration for the next chapter. Give me a theme, an episode, something you readers want to challenge me with or would like to see me try to work the love triangle in._


	9. What I Want

_A/N: I know, it's been a while since I have posted anything. I've just been out there, doing schoolwork and immersing myself in Korean pop culture. Other than that, I'm left with a lot of free time. You know what happens when I get a lot of free time ;D_

_I planned something completely different for this chapter, but I felt to post this, mainly because I feel anxious. I've been feeling very anxious lately after taking a FB quiz and receiving the result that I had some general anxiety disorder. Ah gads. Yes, I'm feeling anxious about being anxious. That's not really good._

_Other than that, I feel very lovesick as well. I'm going to be spending a couple of days without seeing a few guys that I have grown to like. AKA, I'm going to be crushed for staying away from my crushes for so long. Woe is me. So expect a lot of anxiety in my future postings, however late they may be from now._

_Dedicated to the end of the school year and in general, K-Pop. To be specific, Super Junior and SHINee. Look 'em up on YouTube. You don't have to understand what they're saying._

* * *

She wants something serious. And I'm not sure if I can give it to her.

Around me, I usually find people holding hands, lip locking, and gazing at each other with so much _love_. How desperately I want that. How **so **desperately I want to hold her in my arms and just kiss her without worrying if she will push me away. It's little stuff like this that keeps me awake at night. I am what you define as 'lovesick'.

She wants me to stay away from her, but she doesn't realize how hard it is for me to do. Man, being a _guy _should be excuse enough.

Why does she overestimate the control I have over my body? She always expects things to be the same between us. Through thick and thin and all that crap. As if things will stay the same between us if she wills it so. I'm not strong-willed like that. Over countless fights I have yelled, "Things change, and this... this... thing!... between us will change," but she never listens. Maybe I should quit the stuttering habit.

Nonetheless, _I _should be the one to blame. When has she ever listened to me?

Yes, I am the fool here.

* * *

He wants me to love him. And he does not know what love is.

Don't you see the irony in that?

He is such a child. He just instantly wants to be with the in crowd like the rest of them.

_All the popular kids are pairing off and making out in dark corners. Shouldn't we be doing the same? I don't want to be out of the in crowd when this fad fades away. I don't want to be an outcast._ (Okay, so he didn't say that exactly, but you get the point.)

Baka, it's too late to be thinking that, don't you think? Jeremie is trying to free his virtual girlfriend from a computer prison. Odd is convinced that every girl on campus is in love with him, and we fight monsters on a virtual world in our free time. Don't you also think we have too much history? Too many meaningful memories? Do you really want to risk losing all of it? Over a passing fad?

_It's better to try than to wish we had. And what do you mean passing fad?_

**Sigh**. All the yelling makes my heart struggle and my eyes burn. And the **size **of his ego!

On the other hand, the new guy in town wants to take it slow. And I don't trust myself to do so when we've only known each other for a few weeks. How utterly ironic is that?

I'm at a fork in the road. Take it fast or take it slow.

While eating dinner silently, I suddenly had a revelation.

It seems I have already been walking up one path all along without even knowing it. That, my attentive audience, is irony at its crappiest.

* * *

She wants me to move slower. And I'm not really sure I can do that.

I'm a guy. How the heck am I supposed to control myself?

I think I might hate her. More than I've ever hated anyone in my entire life.

On the other hand, I might love her. Love her so much that my heart quickens and my skin sweats just from the thought of her. And when she's angry, don't even get me started.

This feeling scares me. One minute, when she disregards my tokens of affection so coolly, I feel like running up to her and yelling at her to accept them. Don't disregard my *$#ing feelings! But I have more tact than that. The next moment when we are whispering in class, sharing secrets, I feel like holding her in my arms and kissing away her fears. Make her feel like she is safe. That I am the only one who could make her feel that way.

We had an argument today. It seemed pointless and petty to me, since it was so obvious that I won. She was overemotional and had no backing to her statements, but the look of her fear on her face...

_You're one of those popular kids who wants a girl to hang off your arm so you can show off how "manly" you are. I don't want to be in a pointless relationship, because you know that those popular kids end up breaking up a week later!_

It's not like that. Has any of them ever spent hours talking to each other on the phone? Risked their reputation just to help the other out? Sent flowers to the other every single day? I've never seen that. It's kinda obvious that this thing is not a silly little crush. And I'm not popular. I'm COOL. There's a difference. A big difference.

_All right, rich boy. I got it. You have money, but that means nothing to me._

Money has nothing to do about it. I've spent most of my time writing up love letters to you, hoping you'll read them. Why don't you give us a chance? If you really don't like me, you can just deny me. I've told you countless times before. Tell me that you do not feel the chemistry between us and that you find no chance that you will take up this chance in the future.

She is such a wuss for not facing me directly about this. But I know that she likes me. Deep down. I've seen that look of longing in her eyes. And I'm just waiting for her to tell me that I'm what she is really longing for.

* * *

_A/N: During the second portion, I wanted to write, "And the size of his head!" but I thought that people would take it the wrong way. I know I did xD_


	10. A Decision and its Outcome

Disclaimer: Other than saying I do not own Code: Lyoko at all, I have to also say I do **not** own the songs I used in this chapter. Unfortunately, my creative musings are partially why it took so long to roll this baby out as I have tried to imagine it all in my head. _Anyway_, the works I reference to are "Just So You Know" performed by Jesse McCartney, "It Will Rain" performed by Bruno Mars, "The Only Exception" performed by Paramore, "NAKED" performed by Namie Amuro, and "FOLLOW ME" performed by BIGBANG. Each song is amazing in its own right, so I am suggesting you listen to them! Even if it is in another language, you should listen if you love music as much as I do. Of course, I don't own the songs; I don't have the musical capacity to compose and produce songs like that.

A/N: You may have noticed I changed the rating of this story. It was pretty drastic. But I'm playing it safe, because this chapter is pretty mature. Not explicit or vulgar, but mature.

What else can I say though? It has been a while since I have contributed to the Fanfiction community and I have changed a lot. I wonder if I can continue with the works I have left unfinished. But I know if I am bored enough one day and find the motivation and inspiration to continue, I will do so. I am too proud to leave a story half finished. Anyway, onward!

* * *

**Present day - early morning**

With a groan, she wiggles under the covers. Despite the warmth and comfort, she can only cringe and stiffen with each wave of pain. Nausea greets her, causing her to only moan in an effort to stop it from rising to the surface.

_I am never drinking alcohol again. The day I try to loosen up and this hap- what is that?_

She stiffens, and the arm wraps even more tightly around her.

_Oh, it's William._

It's William, dragging her closer to him, intoxicating her, poisoning her senses. Her vision is spinning, but when she looks over her shoulder to see dark disheveled hair and a smooth, muscular physique, it's William. Her body sinks into his. _It's William_.

His words last night still make her immensely pleased, a heat spreading through her body. "_You may never remember tonight, but I will never forget the night I found forever."_

Before she can ponder it any further, his calloused fingertips dance along the skin of her hips until goosebumps form, her blood quickening and chilling her skin. She tries to push the heavy covers off, but he pulls her more tightly against him, restricting her movement.

"I'm not letting you go again this time." He nibbles the side of her neck, grinding against her. She shivers in his arms, not understanding his words but loving this new game. He's usually more playful in bed, making every experience unique and exhilarating. Perhaps it is his newfound motivation, strong and shaking inside of her already. He bucks in her and she whimpers in pain.

She is sore from last night, muscles begging for rest, head heavy against her pillow, eyes stinging from lack of sleep. She has not been physically sore like this in so long, and she finds she has missed it. "Touch me," she finally whispers. His raspy breaths are creating a desperation under the sheets, and it is uncomfortable; she wants freedom, some air, but she grows used to his heat. She can feel his heartbeat pulsing through his skin, and his palm rests against her heart, gripping onto her like a lifeline. She puts her hand over his and he is not so tense, not so feverish. He takes a deep breath.

And the next moment his hands are gripping her hips and everything is pure motion. He is not gentle with her and she can barely think and she is fully blinded, lights surrounding her vision and pure pleasure travels through her veins. She is on top of the world, and when she delightfully comes back down, he brings her back up, grunting sweet nothings in her hair, and it doesn't stop. He doesn't stop.

"Yumi," he pants. She can barely hear his voice, but she can hear his insecurity, his desire, his determination. And she understands.

But her thoughts end when her body stiffens. Every nerve is frozen, her toes curl, and she lets out a loud keening cry as the familiar immense pleasure traverses her body. Her fatigue and sensitivity enhance it so much that she feels like she is drowning. Teeth nip at her skin and fingers play her body like a piano, and it seems to prolong the experience, the explosion, and euphoria.

"Oh god!" A primitive growl, tense arms tightening around her body, large hands imprinting themselves into her hips, pelvic muscles thrusting and grinding into her so much that she reaches down, desperate to reach that peak again. He is shaking against her, muscles hard against her back, body so constricted around her she finds it hard to breathe. His fingers join hers and with just a couple of rubs, she is drowning with him.

She can hear his lips moving against her neck, forming the word "Mine" again and again, never ending. After the shaking and pleasure subsides, she joins him into the darkness.

**The week previous**

"Okay, four counts, remember?" She claps her hands to demonstrate. He is trying to concentrate, but he feels lost in the vast space, her voice echoing in the gymnasium. "Start from the beginning. One, two, three, four. One two, three, and four..." After switching on the music, she stands against the wall, watching as he begins his solo. He sweats in his focus and concentration, arms and legs almost flailing around before she leaps in to join him.

After half a minute of perfect coordination, Ulrich grunts loudly as he misses a step, his slow foot landing loudly with a boom on the floor. "Tell me why we agreed to do this for the talent show again. I must have been drunk when you got me to say yes..." He sits down where he messed up, fighting to catch his breath.

She goes to turn off the stereo, the wooden floor vibrating against her feet. "You can't just give up." That vein on her forehead is twitching. She stands over him as he is kneeling over, sweat dripping from his forehead. "We said we would be there for him. Besides, we're a promised act."

"I can't keep track of all of the movements we have to make. It's just so annoying!" He tries to remember the dance video Odd showed them. With the quick steps and the loud bass and Yumi's body dancing enticingly in front of him, Ulrich is just overwhelmed.

How are they expected to remember seven minutes of madness and do it in front of the school?

She frowns, disapproving of his behavior. "Well, we're just going to have to work harder if we want to snag this thing." She saunters over to the boombox to restart the music. He gulps, mentally cursing.

**Three days prior**

"Staring won't do anything." Odd laughs. "C'mon Ulrich."

"I wasn't staring." But his eyes go back to the couple on the bench. His arm is wrapped around her shoulders, and she is laughing, looking up him with so much happiness in her eyes. It's sickening, but he cannot look away.

"You had a chance you know. You still do, though it is more complicated now." Ulrich turns his face away, unable to look any longer. They are kissing now. "Just think, we're graduating soon! You can date whoever you want. No parents or rules. Just you and all the fish in the sea."

"Yup." His shakes his head, clearing the fog around his thoughts. He should have stayed in bed this morning. They are still in a tight embrace.

"C'mon, let's get some breakfast."

When she enters the room with a sports bra and yoga pants, all thoughts leave him except for _I'll definitely mess up the choreography today_.

And he does.

And she sighs.

"Why do you always mess up in that part on the choreography? You're fine with everything else." She demonstrates his part in slow motion.

Well, that is the part where she bends low. Yeah, it isn't that hard to do a body twist and a few kicks when he has that in sight. No problem at all.

"I don't know," he lies, doing that part of the choreography effortlessly for her inspection. She sighs loudly, aggravated. "Maybe we need to practice more."

She looks him in the eyes, her hands firmly on his shoulders. "The talent show is in a few days." She stares into his eyes for a few minutes before stepping away. "Let's go through it again."

After twenty more minutes of practice, both of them reduced to sweaty, pink bodies, Odd finally enters the gymnasium, a large mischievous grin on his face.

"How's the dance going?" He turns the boombox off a few seconds after galloping in. He notes their quick breaths and sweat-stained shirts as affirmatives. "Do you guys mind showing me how it's coming along?"

Ulrich fumes in his mind as he glares at his friend. But Odd only has his eyes on Yumi, who nods and goes to the boombox. He sighs, planting himself into position after shaking his legs of their stiffness. Odd is grinning as he goes to sit on a bench, watching from the front.

After dancing through the first half of the song, Odd turns off the boombox and gives them a standing ovation. Though it is overly exaggerated, Ulrich cannot help the jolt of pleasure that hits his heart seeing Yumi smile. He sits on the floor, unable to think straight with all of the adrenaline running through his body.

"Good job guys! It looks like you're ready for the show. Keep practicing, and show off that sexy number, okay? Tata!" Yumi laughs watching him run out of the gymnasium.

"You hear that? There is nothing to worry about Ulrich!"

He rolls his eyes playfully. "Can't help but worry though. Let's go through it one more time before we leave. And quick too. I'm hungry."

**Eight months prior**

"A dance? You've gotta be kidding me! I can't dance Odd, you know that."

"Well this is for the betterment of the school and we're graduating this year! Better to end it with a bang, right?"

William chuckles and only tightens his hold on Yumi when she scowls. "It sounds like a good idea. Why don't you do it?"

She frowns. "I can't dance. You of all people should know that."

"How about you Ulrich? You in?" Odd waves his hand in front of his friend's face. "Hello Ulrich! Have you been listening to this at all?"

"Uhh what?" He shakes his head. "You were talking about a dance or something?"

"I'm having you and Yumi dance in the talent show!" Odd shouts, grinning.

"WHAT?" Ulrich's shock quickly turns into anger. "Why would you do that? I can't dance!"

"Can you guys stop getting your panties in a bunch?" Odd asks tiredly. "Listen, not a lot of people have bought tickets to watch the show, because really, who wants to see Herb and his acne-infested self onstage when you can do that in gym class? We need a class act, and really now, if you guys were to perform, everyone would want to watch. We really need this money for the art program here guys."

William is whispering into Yumi's ear. At last she sighs. "I'll think about it," she concedes. Odd's smile grows wider. "But I'm telling you, I can't dance."

"It's no problem!" Odd quickly interjected. "I will be planning the choreography and choosing the music. If you guys are in, you'll just have to learn it."

"You swear?" Ulrich asks skeptically.

"Only the best for my two best friends!" Odd wraps his arms around his two friends on each side of him. Ulrich can only sweatdrop nervously.

**Seven months and a half prior**

"That's pretty good," compliments William, handing the headphones to Yumi. "You made it yourself?"

"Just some mixing," Odd replies proudly, puffing up his chest. "I wanted to try something new, so I decided to go with something Japanese. It would be a nice way to expand everyone's view on the world, and it would be interesting."

"Amuro Namie!" Yumi whispers in surprise.

"Yeah," Odd replies dismissively as Yumi hands the headphones to Ulrich. "So I already have the dance for you guys." He takes out a laptop from his backpack and after pressing a couple of key presses, he presents the screen to his audience. "Here it is guys."

The choreography is a mixture, like the song, of different videos, but it was compiled tastefully. Thankfully, it was obvious which parts Yumi and Ulrich would perform.

"Wait, you're going to have them touching each other like that?" asks William suspiciously. "Odd, I'm not all too comfortable with-"

"It's all art!" he exclaims excitedly, turning the laptop away from them so he can watch his creation alone. Ulrich scratches the back of his head as Yumi scowls at Odd. "Everyone already knows Yumi's your girlfriend, so what's the deal? You want me to staple a sign to her shirt or something? Relax! You know you can trust Ulrich."

"Yeah..." William trails off, looking at Ulrich. Ulrich is now looking at the soccer field, paying no attention to his room mate's exuberance.

"Any more objections?" Odd asks, a hint of a threat in his tone. He snaps his laptop closed.

Yumi tightens her grip on William's hand in reassurance. "Nope. Hopefully it'll be fun."

"No problem here." Ulrich turns back to his friends. "Let's do this."

**The night prior**

Yumi is impressed; the auditorium is filled to the brim, cameras are flashing, taking pictures of the elegantly designed stage and banners hanging from the ceiling. She can only wonder what pain Odd had to endure to plan everything. And the money spent for the equipment-

"I'll see you after the show, okay?" She smiles when she turns to her boyfriend, and he gives her a chaste kiss goodbye. He tightens his hand around hers in encouragement and suddenly he is gone.

That's how it has been recently. She feels bad for being suspicious, but he had been running off, saying he had duties to tend to and other things on his plates. It never interfered with their alone time, and he never said no to her, but it made her uncomfortable to think he couldn't tell her something.

She is overwhelmed by the noise of the audience as people try to get to their seats. It's really filling up. Clutching her trenchcoat even more tightly around her body, she goes into the dressing room.

Several students already clutter the room, but she goes to Ulrich, who is already dressed for their performance. "Ulrich!" she calls out happily, unbuttoning her trenchcoat and rushing to get prepared in front of the mirror. He smiles when he sees her, moving to give her room.

"You look great." She tosses her trenchcoat onto a chair and pats her frizzled hair down. "Just... wow."

"Thanks Ulrich." She fixes her straps, then ties the trenchcoat back around her body. She raises her eyebrow catching his stunned expression in the mirror. "Is it that amazing that I'm not wearing my usual black clothes? Really now?"

He snaps out of his daze. "No it's just... you look great."

Despite the simplicity of his words, she blushes. "Thanks Ulrich." They look at each other as she sits in the chair, fixing her boots, and suddenly Odd is in the room, his hair frazzled, clothes in disarray, clipboard tightly in hand. "First performance up! I called you guys up already!"

Emily looks scared as she rushes past the MC of the night, her dog trailing behind her. When they leave, Yumi can only chuckle.

"So we have a while before we have to go up. Let's go practice one more time?" He offers his hand.

She plants her feet surely on the floor and takes his proffered hand. "Let's go."

He inhales deeply, nostrils flaring out as he exhales suddenly. She gives him a weak smile, patting his shoulders in reassurance as they wait behind the dusty curtain.

"We'll do fine. They're going to love us when we get out there." He gulps as he looks at his attire: black slacks, white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and a loose tie. He feels like vomiting his grilled cheese sandwich and soda. He feels like making out with the Asian vixen standing in front of him, fixing her trenchcoat. He feels like running away. He feels like quitting.

And Ulrich Stern is not a quitter.

"So now welcome our anticipated dance routine by our fellow students, Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama!" Ulrich shakes his head, planting an impassive expression as the lights dim and he waits for his cue. Yumi gives him a thumbs up and runs around the back of the stage to the opposite end. He takes another deep breath. It's show time.

The crowd is silenced and the lights go on, the multicolored lights circling the stage with the pronounced beat of the song. Yumi comes out first, strutting in her trenchcoat and high-heeled boots. She smiles saucily at the crowd, bending her hips as she spins. When the singing begins, her moves show a robotic pattern and it is his cue to walk out and stand a few meters away from her. He circles her now still form, looking her up and down inquisitively. When he walks closer to her, she steps away, a teasing grin on her face when the music stops.

It comes back on loudly, faster, and they move simultaneously. She is only in a trenchcoat and boots, but he finds her alluring. His facade is only half a facade, because he truly wants to hold her and make her his in front of the entire audience but reality is against him and she does not like him like that, never did. When he finally does have a grasp of her trenchcoat collar and he pulls her forcefully to him, there is an explosion. It goes black and it is silent. The audience has stopped whistling and yelling; they have been stunned to silence, then begin the whispers and questions.

"Let go of me Ulrich," someone whispers. He is jolted back to reality when Yumi tugs her jacket out of his fist and she steps away from him, ragged breaths sounding like a hurricane in his ears. He does not want to let go. He wants to hold on and take her somewhere else far from here. Where he can go back in time and not wait. Where he can make her love him again. Where she is not with William.

But then the music starts and he is struggling to keep up with the fast tempo. Yumi's movements are suggestive. There is more hip rolling, back bending, and chest pumps. Ulrich is barely completing his kicks and swings. They are too close; he can see the sweat rolling down her chest into her dress, and with each couple of lines the singer proclaims, they alternate in their dance moves.

And then he realizes why the audience is going crazy. Yumi had thrown her trenchcoat off to the side during the break, and now she is wearing a tight red dress with her high heeled boots. Instead of cheers, Ulrich hears catcalls and lewd shouting and he is growing angry. But then she shoves him away, beginning the chase section of the choreography, and he is actively following her now, each step with the beat as she continues to walk backwards. She stops him, forcing him backwards as she taps along his chest. Then he is chasing her again.

She is dancing all over him, and before he knows it, she is strutting away from him, step by step. She looks back once and he plants his hands on her shoulders, stopping her from moving. But he cannot ponder her quick movements because he is moving on instinct, each caress and touch mechanized from months of practice.

They are repeating their movements, but this time they are tired from their exuberance from the beginning. Accidental touches blotch every move, and at last, he is planted behind her as they reach the conclusion of the song. She is shoving him with each loud proclamation and at the last one, he is behind the curtain. Yumi gives a kiss to the audience, then runs behind the curtains as the lights dim to complete darkness.

The audience is going crazy, shouting for an encore, and Yumi is sweating, grinning in pride, and he wants to kiss her so badly, so so badly but she only hugs him tightly and steps away. "We did great out there!"

"We did." He smiles weakly and she pats his on the shoulder before leading the way to the dressing rooms. But they encounter someone on the way.

"There's my dancing queen," exclaims William jokingly. He wraps his arms around her, and then he is spinning her in his arms. She is flushed when he puts her back on the ground, and they are smiling like silly at each other. And William kisses her.

Ulrich closes the door to the dressing room behind him.

* * *

Yumi has a towel around her neck, her trenchcoat loosely hugging her body when Aelita bursts into the room. "Yumi, come watch!"

She jumps up and chases after her, sensing her urgency. "What's wrong? Is there an emergency? Aelita, tell me, because-"

And she stops, catching sight of what Aelita wanted her to see.

William is strumming his guitar to his own melody before he looks up and fixes his microphone. "This is for my favorite girl out there," and he chuckles. Girls sigh and scream in the audience, and Jeremie smacks a joking Odd on the shoulder as he pretends to faint in delight.

"See, there was nothing to worry about," Aelita whispers as William starts. Yumi nods distractedly, the last several months forgotten. She can imagine his expression though she can only see his back. He never played the guitar for her before, despite her constant requests. His strumming is slow and measured, as if he is trying to lull the audience to sleep. At last he begins, inhaling sharply.

"I shouldn't love you but I want to / I can't turn away / I shouldn't see you but I can't move / I can't look away / It's getting hard to beat around you / There's so much I can't say / Do you want me to drive out the feelings / And look the other way? / I don't know how to be fine when I'm not / I don't know how to make the feeling stop." And he does stop, chuckling when he looks out into the audience and a couple of girls squeal at him. He probably winked or something, Yumi thinks, rolling her eyes, but she is shaking listening to the desperation and love in his words.

"Just so you know / This feeling's taking control of me / I can't help it, I won't sit around / I can't let him win now / Thought you should know / I've tried my best to let go of you / But I don't want to / I just gotta say it all before I go / Just so you know." And he keeps strumming his guitar, seeming like his performance has reached its end because the audience has started to applaud and scream, but then he starts a melody with a faster tempo. The audience is confused to silence, and he begins again.

"They'll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby," and he ignores the screams of recognition, determined to finish this song. "There'll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby / Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same / If you walk away, everyday it will rain, rain, rain, rain." And he is doing it again, absolutely focused on the chords he plays. It seems like he will end, but then he slows his tempo, and he sings again.

"I've got a tight grip on reality / but I can't let go of whats part of me here / I know you're leaving in the morning / When you wake up, leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream / You are the only exception / You are the only exception / You are the only exception / You are the only exception / And I'm on my way to believing."

His guitar playing quickens, and then he sings, "Just so you know." He stops, looking up at the crowd, and they applaud wildly. Yumi has tears in her eyes as she fights the urge to run onto the stage and interrupt Odd's MCing. Did he really sing that for her?

She is glad she did not give her suspicions another thought. And William is coming closer, now a meter away from her. He stands his guitar against the wall, but he is still unprepared when she pounces on him.

"I love you," she murmurs into his neck, her arms around his shoulders. He chuckles, bending down so they could embrace comfortably, and he wraps his arms tightly around her. "I really am blessed to have a boyfriend like you."

"I know," he jokes. She frowns playfully, slapping him on the shoulder when she pulls away from him. He grins, picking his guitar back up and wrapping his other arm around her waist.

"What should we do now? There's only one more performance."

"I have an idea," he says suggestively. She scrunches her nose distastefully.

"There's only one performance left." He pushes the door open for her and she walks into the dressing room. It is a mess, testament to the rushed feelings of the other performers that night. Yumi looks around the room and then frowns before smiling at William. "I know we're the only ones in here, but come on now, five minutes?"

"If you weren't so determined to deny me, we would be high on endorphins by now," William jokes, ticking her sides. She squeals in surprise and tries to push him away but he does not relent. At last he pauses, turning his face away from her.

He faces her again. "They want all of the performers to get on stage."

She sighs. "Let's go face the music."

"Well you've already done that. I should be the one worrying about that."

"Shut up," she grins, separating from him and running ahead to the curtains. He chases her until they reach the stage area where they see the other performers. They clasp their hands together.

"Now let's show you the performers once again!" Odd proclaims, and the performers get out from behind the curtain. The udience claps wildly as the performers wave their hands and stand by the edge of the stage.

"Now guys, I have a surprise for you," Odd announces. "This was not just a talent show. It was also a competition. We have been gathering votes from the audience at the end of each performance, and now we will declare the winner."

But suddenly William pulls his hand out of Yumi's grasp. "My cell phone is ringing," he whispers. He looks at the screen discreetly. "It's the hospital. I'm going to take this call."

"I hope everything is okay," she replies worriedly, giving him a chaste kiss goodbye before he nods and walks offstage. She walks to where her friend is standing on the opposite end of the stage.

Odd thanks Aelita, who ran up to the podium to give Odd a slip of paper. He reads it quickly, then solemnly nods. "So let's go, right?" He coughs dramatically, clears his throat, and shakes his wrists loose before the audience begins to boo him. "Okay guys! Okay. You really want to know who w=the winners are, don't you?"

Yumi chuckles, watching Odd's antics. She looks around at the rest of the performers. They are also amused, but a few of them are jittery at the thought of winning this content.

"We'll be okay if we don't win," she whispers to Ulrich. He nods.

"-Ulrich and Yumi!" shouts Odd.

Yumi widens her eyes in surprise. "Seriously?" she shouts above the loud applause. Ulrich is just as surprised and pleased, but he does not expect Yumi's hug. "We won, Ulrich! Did you hear that? We won!"

"Yeah, we did." His muffled reply makes her realize where she is and she is blushing when she lets go of her friend. He fixes his collar, then nods, and they both step up to the podium.

"Congratulations on your win, guys. Here we will honor you with this wonderful trophy bought from the store next door and medals for each of you." The audience laughs at his joke as he puts the medals around each of their necks and hands Ulrich the trophy. At last, the pair smiles, bowing when they face the audience. "Let's give them another hand, ladies and gentlemen. Yumi and Ulrich!

They both run away when Odd is giving his final speech for the night. Yumi is laughing the entire way. "I can't believe we won!"

"Me neither," Ulrich smiles, his face flushed from their quick dash outside. "Hey, how about I put this trophy in my dorm and we have a celebratory night out?"

"Sure!" she agrees, the adrenaline racing in her bloodstream. "I'll call my mom. She knows how long we've been practicing so she should understand. We'll meet at the gate?"

"Yes," he affirms, taking the trophy out of her grasp and heading away. "I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Okay!" she yells, smiling as she dials her mother on her cell phone. Wait till they heard that she just won the talent show!

**Present day - afternoon**

_It must be about noon. That must be why the fucking sun is in my eyes again._

He rolls onto his back, elongating his body and curling his toes until he is fully awake.

His peace is broken when he realizes what he has done, what he must do, what he has _done_.

"_So." There is a playful grin on her face as she twirls the straw in her drink. "Regrets? We're graduating soon."_ _He observes the bright twinkle in her eye and her tilted body as she leans against the counter, her slurred speech, the strap of her tanktop falling to reveal a creamy pale shoulder. Unblemished. Pure._

_She is so beautiful._

"_More than you could understand."_

He extracts himself from her body, suddenly chilled in the hotel room. He follows his trail of clothes to the front door where his ripped shirt and wrinkled tie lay. He keeps his shirt unbuttoned and pushes his tie into his pants pocket. The emotional detachment rests around him like a second skin. He cannot feel the disappointment for getting involved in this situation, where like others, he has run away, dodged the bullet, to realize he may as well have been the one who gave the shooter the gun.

"So SO stupid!" he grunts, examining the bathroom. The mental debate pauses when he rinses his mouth, washes his face, and wets his hair. He wipes his face and hands with a towel, doing so slowly as he views himself in the mirror.

"_Plans after school?" She giggles, so unlike herself, looking at him with so much trust and endearment that he knows he will suffer for bringing her to a bar. "I don't know if William and I will still be together. It's been at least a year, but we've been through so much already, and my parents like him. Our universities will only be half an hour apart." Almost._

"_I don't know. Go to school. Continue with soccer. Hopefully meet someone." Out of the corner of his eye, he sees her sit up, growing more excited._

"_Any girl would be ex-" She hiccups, muttering her apologies. "-cited to be with you!" He searches her eyes; she's completely honest, and he can only feel the familiar disappointment. She notices his expression and quickly adds, "She'll be perfect. Don't be discouraged. See how long it took for William and me to get together? And still together too."_

He plants his hands against the sink, looking into the basin; he can't look at himself anymore. There's nausea rising in his throat, clogging the vomit threatening to leave his body. He is generally unaffected by alcohol, but the amount he chugged last night...

"_Look at your grades Ulrich. You plan to graduate next year? You know, you make it so hard for me to be proud to have a son like you, always disappointing me like this."_

"_You know she has a boyfriend now. Remember? William?"_

"_That's funny, coming from you, looking for girls after Kadic, unless you're talking about finding this particular girl that you've been in love with the entire time we've been room mates. Get real. You have to purge yourself of this, let it go once and for all."_

He turns off the light, hesitant as he soundlessly moves back to the bed. He feels strong, standing over her as she sleeps, unaware that he is in total control, unaware that he can do anything to her. Anything.

It is only them, in the room, nothing else. Time does not exist. Outside of this room, the world does not exist. William does not exist.

The familiar signs of anger: the heat in his body, quickening heart, adrenaline pumping through his system, thirst for blood. And then he looks at her face and his fists unclench, jaws relaxing.

Before they got together, his tendency to want to punch a face was not so pronounced, not so hard to control.

It is almost pathetic the way he is now.

He tucks her hair away from her eyes, and then leaves the room, locking the door on the way out.

_When you wake up, leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream_

* * *

A/N: The dance is a mix of "FOLLOW ME" then "NAKED". I was trying my hand at trying to make a mix of it myself so that I could give you guys something concrete instead of just vague descriptions. I was also trying to hand at choreographing (hehe) but as my room is out of maintenance at the moment because of a possible bug infestation, that is impossible at the moment.

And the song is "Just So You Know", then "It Will Rain" then "The Only Exception". I did not ponder too much about how this mix would sound, but I do have a guitar and I will learn the chords when I can sleep in my room again, so that possibility is in the future.

Like always, feedback is always welcome. Criticism as well._  
_


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